Aston Villa Set To Get Rid Of Manager Roberto Di Matteo

Widespread reports have claimed Aston Villa are ready to end Roberto Di Matteo’s reign after just five months in charge, with the Press Association reporting that Villa are reluctantly preparing to act in the next 24 hours.

Villa lost at Preston on Saturday – but Di Matteo was angered by his side’s disallowed goal.

According to reports Roberto Di Matteo will be sacked as Aston Villa manager after Tony Jiantong Xia, the club’s owner, accepted that there is little option but to make a change after such a disappointing start to the season. Senior club officials will hold further talks on Monday, with Di Matteo’s departure viewed as a formality and attention already turning to the Italian’s replacement.

The early indications are that Steve Bruce, who is out of work, and David Wagner, the manager of high-flying Huddersfield Town, are the leading contenders for the position. Bruce would bring with him experience of winning promotion from the Championship while Wagner has made a stunning impact since taking over at Huddersfield in November last year.

However, Di Matteo said after Saturday’s game that he was confident his position was safe.

“It’s normal when results are not as expected that everybody questions – it’s part of the job – but I’ve had total support from the club,” said the former Chelsea boss.

“There’s a team here that is good, it will come good for us. We will keep working. I have faith in the team that, come the end of the season, they will be up there.

“It’s been a bad day at the office for sure. We are 10 points from sixth place, so it’s still all possible.”